Syria Vote: Impending Senate Vote Prompting Nationwide Protests

Anti-war protesters gathered in growing numbers outside the White House over the weekend to voice opposition to a U.S. military strike in Syria. Approximately 150 protesters marched an anti-war picket line outside the White House on Saturday September 7, according to reports.

"They say more war; we say no war," protesters chanted outside of the White House.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee cleared authorization of force against Syria by a 10-7 vote last week, moving the motion to the Senate floor. Full votes on the measure are expected to begin Wednesday.

In New York, some protesters carried signs near Wall Street saying, "No more wars for corporate profit," and "Cut the Pentagon, not food stamps."

Other protests has been reported across the country, for example, in Indianapolis, Louisiana, and Michigan. International protests have also been ongoing, according to reports, in France and Lebanon.

Pope Francis led Catholics worldwide in a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria after previously issuing a statement against military action, urging world leaders to stop the “spiral of sorrow and death” and seek peaceful solutions. “Violence and war lead only to death,” the Pope said in leading a 5-hour session of prayer and reflection to an estimated audience of 100,000.